Compensating mechanism for bottle-capping machines



may W, 11923. nwwm c. w. KENDALL COMPENSATING MECHANISM FOR BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINES Original Filed June 4, 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 112 amvemko o COMPENSATING MECHANISM FOR BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINES Original Filed June 4, 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented duly 1Q, 1923.

UNHTE Ldifitid ATENT 56C.

CARL KENDALL, OF GLENSIDE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR' TO COLUMBIA MACHINE AND STOPPER CO. INC., OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF N YORK.

COMPENSATING MECHANISM FOR BOTTLE-CAPPING MACHINES.

Application filed June 4, 1920, Serial No. 386,614. Renewed June 1, 1923.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CARL WALKER KENDALL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Glenside, in the county of Montgomery and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Compensating Mechanism for Bottle-Capping Machines, of which the followmg is a specification.

My invention relates to bottle capping machines and relates particularly to compensating mechanism adapted to apply the form ofbottle cap known as the crown seal.

to bottles having discrepancies or variations in height.

My invention relates to that type of compensating mechanism in which the cap is applied by a yielding, radially. expansible cap-crimping throat into which the neck of the bottle in the capping operation is adapted to enter a predetermined distance and then to release a locking device,-so as to prevent further relative movement or approach of the bottle support, and the capping head toward each other, so as thereby to prevent the breaking of bottles which exceed the minimum length.

An important object of my invention is to prevent too much pressure on the bottle in the capping operation, this having been a common trouble heretofore, resulting in the breakage of a considerable number of bottles. Further objects of my invention are eliectiveness in applyin caps to bottles of varying lengths, simpliclty of construction, inexpensiveness of manufacture, durability, reliability and other objects and advantageswhich will hereinafter appear.

The compensating mechanism forming the subject of the present invention is an imrovement upon that disclosed in my United gtates Letters Patent No. 1,299,355 of April 1, 1919, for bottle capping machine. In this patented machine, the upward yielding movement of the cap-applying piston in the cylinder of the capping head was initially resisted by a supplemental spring in order, by reason of this increased initial resistance to effect the capping operation, afterwhich the supplemental spring was put out of action to permit further substantially free upward movement of the cap-applying piston. In this patented construction it was found that many bottles were broken by applying throat, such as that employed in the patented construction, when the supplemental spring wasstrong enough efie'ctively to crlmp the cap then it was too strong for the safety of the bottle.

My invention includes features of construction and combinations of parts, as will appear from the following description.

I shall now describe the compensating mechanism embodying my invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings and shall thereafter point out my invention in claims.

Figure 1 is a central vertical section through one of the cylinders'of a capping head of a bottle capping machine, the relat1ve positions of the parts being that before the beginning of the capping operation.

Figure 2 is a similar view in the relative positions of the parts after a bottle cap has been applied but before the locking device has been released to prevent further relative approaching movement of the capping head and bottle support.

Figure 3 is a transverse section on a horizontal plane indicated by the line 33 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figures 1 and 2, but with the locking device released and yielding of the relatively movable parts of the capping headhaving taken place due to the further approachof the capping head and the bottle support toward each other after the cap has been appliedto a bottle exceeding the minimum length provided for.

Figure 5 is an enlarged plan view of the resilient radially expansible cap'crimping throat appearing in central vertical section in Figures 1, 2 and 4.

Figure 6 is an elevation of. this throat as viewed from below in Figure 5.

So far as my present invention is com cerned, it is immaterial whether such invention be employed for bottle capping machines in which the bottle support is elevated towards the capping head during the capping operation, or in a machine in which the capping head is lowered towards the bottle support. However, in the particular machine in which the embodiment of my invention illustrated in the drawings has been embodied, the capping head descends towards the bottle sup ort during the capping operation and t ere is no vertical movement of the bottle, and therefore as a matter of convenience in describing the present invention it will be assumed that the capping head descends to'apply the cap.

The particular bottle capping machine embodying my invention, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, is a duplex machine having a double capping head for applying two bottle caps simultaneously, as is common 1n the art, and accordingly the maincarrier part ofthe capping head, includes a pair of cylinders 1 of which one only is shown in the drawings, and the integral connection of which to its mate is indicated in Figure 3 by the web 2 there shown as broken away, and each of these cylinders 1 is also provided with a rearwardly projecting supporting lug ,3, one of which is shown in the drawings, and by which the entire capping head may be adjustably supported upon an actuating member for lowering and raising the capping head in the cap-applying operation. The cylinder 1 is closed at its upper end by a screw-plug 4 and at its lower end slidably receives a hollow piston 5 which in its upper part is enlarged to form a shoulder adapted to abut against a .complementary shoulder formed by a stop ring 6 within the lower part of the cylinder 1. The piston 5 is forced downward by a comparatively strong coiled thrust. spring 7 within the upper part'of the cylinder 1 and acting between the screw cap 4: at its upper end and a thrust block 8 which rests upon the upper end of' a thrust plug 9 which is screwed into the upper ered of the hollow piston 5, and this thrust spring 7 tends with con- 7 siderable force to maintain the shoulder upon the upper end of the piston 5 in contact with the shoulder. formed in the cylinder 1 b the stop ring 6.

'l he lower end of the hollow .piston 5 removably carries an upper throat member 10 to which there is hinged a downwardl flaring lower throat member 11 which 1s held in operative position by means of a catch 12. The several co-operative parts of the capping head, as so far described, are substantially of a usual construction, and in fact, do not differ essentially from the similar parts disclosed in my hereinbefore mentioned patent. The hollow piston 5 con tains a combined cap-holding and bottleejecting plunger 13, the lower end of which projects into a throat-containing recess in the lower end of the piston 5, and the upper reduced end of which is guided in the thrust-receiving screw plug 9. The planger 13 in its lower part is provided with an annularly enlarged part 14, forming upper and lower shoulders, the latter of which limits the downward movement of the planmenace ger 13 and the upper shoulder of which re ceives the thrust of a coiled ejector spring 15 surrounding the plunger 13 and at its upper end abutting against the'lower end of the thrust-receiving screw plug 9.

of segments 16, shown as eight in number,

and which are embraced and held .together by a plurality, shown as three, of resilient split rings 17 which encircle the segments 16 between outer end flanges shown as formed on these segments. In order to secure more uniform resilient segment-compressin and cap-crimping action, the split rings 1 have the splits therein arranged "relatively to one another in oilset relation or out of alignment, these splits in the rings preferably being offset or circumferentially spaced 120 apart, as shown in the drawings. The interior of the throat aperture or opening formed by the throat segments 16 is normally cylindrical with slightly flaring end portions. This throat aperture formed by the segments 16 is adapted slightly to adjust itself to irregularities or lack of cylindrical shape in the mouth ends of various bottles. Also because of the resiliency of this cap-crimping throat, as well as by reason of the cylindrical shape of the throat aperture formed thereby, slight variations in the distance to which the neck of the bottle being capped together with the cap thereon may enter into the throatjs immaterial, and this is of importance in the carrying out of my invention. The capapplying operation of course will be complete as soon as the lower edge of the cap flange has passed upward beyond the tapered and into the cylindrical part of the throat aperture, and ordinarily the several parts are so proportioned and arranged that the capped neck of the bottle is permitted to enter about half way through the throat aperture, as is shown in Figure 4 of the drawings.

During the cap-applying operation, the piston 5 is restrained against upward move ment in the cylinder 1 by means of a positively acting locking device adapted automatically to be released after the completion of the capping operation, and which will now be described. A pair of upwardly diverging substantially straight compensating fingers or locking levers 18 are disposed in slots provided for the purpose in the thrust plug 9 and in the thrust block 8, and

menace dle points thereof on the thrust plug 9 by means of fulcrum pins 19; The upper end of each of these locking levers 18 is of angular shape to form a detent which is adapted to have locking engagement beneath the lower end of a thrust-receiving bushing 20 Within the upper part of the cylinder 1 and the upper end of which abuts against the lower end of the screw cap 4. The upper detent-forming ends of these locking levers 18 are normally pressed outward into engagement with the abutmentforming bushing 20 by means of a small retractil spring 21 which ties together the levers or fingers 18below their pivot pins 19. The lower inner or adjacent ends of the locking levers 18 are beveled as shown to provide inclined cam faces adapted to be engaged by the upper rounded reduced end of the cap-holding and bottle-ejecting plunger 13 as this plunger is moved upwardly by the thrust of the cap on the bottle during the cap-applying operation. When the upper end of the plunger 13 engages the cam faces on the locking levers 18, as shown in Figure 2, it will force these levers apart and will enter between the lower ends of these levers thereby disen aging the upper detent-forming ends of t ese levers from thrust-receiving engagement with the lower end of the bushing'20, as shown in Figure 4. At this stage of the operation further upward movement of the plunger 13 relatively to the piston 5 is prevented by reason of a shoulder 22 thereon coming in contact with the lower end of the thrust plug 9. After the shoulder 22 comes into contact with the thrust plug 9 further upward movement of the capped bottle within the throat aperture is prevented, and the locking fingers 18 being now released, as above explained, the plunger 13 lifts the thrust lug 9, together with the piston 5, and all parts carried thereby, and th thrust plug 9 raises the thrust block 8 to compress the piston-restoring ring 7 as shown in Figure 4. Thus after the completion of the capping operation the piston 5 and all the parts carried thereby may move upward freely, in which case the bottle is subjected to pressure of an appreciable degree only by the spring 7, since the tension 'upon the spring 15 is substantially entirely relieved upon the upward movement of the piston 5. Thus, the breakage of bottles of more than a predetermined minimum length is thereby prevented and the machine is effectively adapted to applying caps to bottles of irregular height. If the cap-crimping throat were not of a resiliently yielding nature, such as above described. for example if it were of a sol-id tapered construction, such as is disclosed in my hereinbefore mentioned patent, then manifestly it would be practically impossible to construct a machine so as to have the locking fingers 18 released just at the exact moment of the completion of the capping operation and before the bottle would be broken by the continuedmovement of approach of the capping head and the bottle support toward each other in effecting the capping operation.

When the capping head ascends thereby lifting the cylinder 1 then the ejecting spring 15 will operate the ejecting plunger 13 to push the capped neck of the bottle out of the cap-crimping throat and concurrently the piston-restorin spring 7 will slide the hollow piston 5 an the parts carried thereby downward, thereby restoring these parts to their original lower position ready for the next succeeding cap-applying operation and with the upper ends of the locking fingers 18 now again engaged by the spring 21 beneath the lower en of the thrust-receiving bushing 20, as shown in Figure 1.

It is obvious that various modifications may be made in the construction shown in the drawings and above particularly described within the principle and scope of my invention.

I claim:

1 A compensating mechanism for a bottle capping machine comprising, in a capping head, a main supporting member 1ncluding a hollow cylinder, a cap-applying piston adapted to slide upwardly within said cylinder, a locking lever fulcrumed upon the upper end of said piston and adapted to have locking engagement. with said cylinder thereby positively to lock sa d piston against upward movement in sa d cylinder, at bottle-ejecting plunger within said piston and adapted at its lower end to be engaged by the capped end of the bottle to be moved upwardly thereby and adapted at its upper end to engage with and release said locking lever upon a predetermined extent of movement of said bottle end into said throat, a restoring spring to return said piston to the cap-applying position, and a bottle-ejecting spring for sai plunger for ejecting the capped bottle, and a restoring spring for the locking lever for moving it to the locking position.

2. A compensating mechanism for a bottle capping machine comprising, in a capping head, a main supporting member including a hollow cylinder, a' cap-applying piston adapted to slide upwardly within said cylinder, a pair of substantially straight levers of the first class forming piston-locking detents pivoted upon the upper end of said piston with their upper ends adapted to have piston-locking engagement with said cylinder, a bottle-ejecting plunger within said piston and adapted at its lower end to be engaged by the capped end of the bottle to be moved upwardly thereby and adapted at its upper end to enter between and to force apart the lower ends of said locking levers thereby to release said levers from looking engagement upon a predetermined extent of entry of said capped bottle end into said throat, a restoring spring to return said piston to the cap-applying position, and a bottle-ejecting spring for said plunger for ejecting the capped bottle, and a restoring spring for said locking levers for moving them to the locking position.

3. A compensating mechanism for a bottle capping machine comprising, in a capping head, a main supporting member including a hollow cylinder, a cap-applying piston adapted to slide upwardly within said cylinder, a locking lever fulcrumed upon the upper end of said piston and adapted to have locking engagement with said cylinder thereby positively to lock said piston against upward movement in said'cylinder, a cap-crimping throat mounted within the lower end of said piston, a bottleejecting plunger within said piston and adapted at its lower end to be engaged by the capped end of the bottle to be moved upwardly thereby and adapted at its upper end to engage with and relase said locking lever upon a predetermined extent of movement of said bottle end into said throat, a restoring spring to return said piston to the cap-applying position, and a bottlee'jecting spring for said plunger for ejecting the capped bottle, and a restoring spring for the locking lever for moving it to the locking position.

4. A compensating mechanism for a bottle capping machine comprising, in a capping head, a main supporting member including a hollow cylinder, a carp-applying piston adapted to slide upwardly within said cylinder, a pair of substantially straight levers of the first class forming piston-locking detents pivoted upon the upper end of said piston with their upper ends adapted to have piston-locking engagement with said cylinder, a cap-crimping throat mounted within the lower end of said piston, a bottleejecting plunger within said piston and adapted at its lower end to be engaged by the capped end of the bottle to be moved upwardly thereby and adapted at its upper end to enter between and to force apart the lower ends of said locking levers thereby to release said levers from locking engage ment upon a predetermined extent of entry of said capped bottle end into said throat, a restoring spring to returnsaid piston to the cap-applying position, and a bottleejecting spring for said plunger for ejecting the capped bottle, and a restoring spring for said locking levers for moving them to the locking position.

In testimony wherof I have aflixed my signature to this specification.

CARL WALKER KENDALL. 

